Wednesday, May 27, 2015

One of the things I have learned to be grateful for is that I live in our day and time and not back in the 1800's. We may get annoyed at the "over doing" of the politically correct or incorrect demands of our society but it sure beats the things that were happening back then. How do you like these documents? Do you need a guardian because you are an idiot, and imbecile, a lunatic or a drunkard? Choose one! The treatment of the mentally ill was incredible! If you had dementia you got arrested and thrown in an insane asylum. If you were epileptic, the same. I saw one case where a "feeble minded" 14 year old boy was put in an asylum where he lived for over 50 years until he died. I digitize stories like this every day and wonder where was the humanity in people then?
This next document is from an estate settlement and lists people who owe the deceased money. The right hand column declares the character of the person owing, indicating the probability of getting the money. On this page they are all either good or worthless. On the next page there are a few listed as destitute. I think I'd rather be destitute than worthless, although I'm not really sure there's a difference for this purpose. Some of these I get a laugh out of and some break my heart.On Memorial Day we took a picnic to Lake Alma and although we had thought about walking around the Lake we decided against it because David still isn't seeing well enough to be safe walking where the terrain could be uneven. All of the lakes around here have water lilies. On Memorial Day at Lake Alma we saw the first of them starting to bloom. We are so excited to see them all really come into bloom, There are places where the lilies are so thick you can't see the water for many acres.
This first picture is Lake Hope and is about 11 mile north of us. There is a beach for swimming, a playground, a picnic area, hiking trails, boat rentals, a lodge and cabin rentals. The area is thick with beautiful trees much like if you were up the canyon in Utah. It was when we went here last week to check on the water lilies that David missed a step and twisted his ankle and knee just a little. That's what made us decide on Memorial Day we'd better be more careful.
This next picture is Lake Alma about 10 mile south of us. The trees you see across the water are actually on an island in the middle of the lake. It also has a beach for swimming, picnicking, camping, and fishing. We were told there used to b a huge Ferris wheel on the island. I don't know what happened to that. I guess the Branch sometimes has parties there. I can't wait!

This next picture is actually the back yard of a family in the Branch where we went for dinner a few weeks ago. It's a cattle ranch. If you look close right in the front of the picture is a white birdhouse. It is for purple martin's (swallows). They eat all the insects so you can sit comfortably on the back porch and not worry about mosquitoes or flies even though you are on a cattle ranch. How cool is that? The pond in the back yard is so picturesque. You could sit there and relax forever.

Last night was the best experience so far here! It was little Zion's baptism. The Spirit was so strong and sweet there it was really a wonderful experience. There were almost as many people there as there are for Sacrament Meetings. The talks and the music and everything about is was just the best ever! They are such a sweet family!

We hope you are all doing well. We love and miss everyone! Our time is going so fast! We have been able to share the gospel a little bit at the courthouse and give one referral to the missionaries. We are waiting to hear back from another gentleman we talked to about the church, so we will see. Don't forget to do indexing! We will be home before you know it!

Saturday, May 9, 2015

We were so excited to have a visit from Jeff and Mary Joy! We couldn't leave our work so we only had evenings and the weekend to be with them but it was so great! It was fun to have four to play the bean game and it didn't take Mary Joy long to develop a winning strategy and she beat us all! On Saturday we went back to Marietta and visited the Campus Martius and Ohio River Museums and the Castle House. It was so great to be with them and see them again!
On Friday we got kicked out of the courthouse at noon. They closed for their annual "Wild Turkey Days". The street in front of the courthouse was closed and filled with food trucks and booths, but we didn't see any wild turkeys. (?????) I've put in a few pictures of the scenery here in Vinton County. We think it is charming. There are 5 covered bridges in Vinton County. I don't think any of them are still in use. The area is quite depressed, the population is the same now as it was in the 1800's. It is quite openly called the "Obama No Job Zone". When you drive through here you feel like you've stepped back in time about 50 years. One thing I love is the older architecture that is everywhere. The old 'saltbox' style houses are very common; usually built onto on the back. The place on the right is being made into some kind of a tourist place (notice the railroad caboose in the back.
We like the "Flintstones" car here but notice the beautiful pond behind it. These ponds are very common and beautiful, probably because water is so plentiful.On the right is a castle just a few miles from McArthur that is used as a bed and breakfast. It really isn't old, but built fairly recently. It's in a beautiful setting although the leaves weren't out on the trees two weeks ago when I took the picture. The leaves are starting to come out a little better now. This week temperatures were in the 80's (too warm for me).
The forest picture is the spring where we go to get our delicious water. There is a pipe that comes out from the rock that we can just put our bottles under and get all the water we need for the week. We go through about 5 gallons a week.The document is from and estate we digitized last week. I didn't hardly dare breathe while I did it because it was so fragile.
This project has been the hardest we have done. We worry a lot about having down camera time because of all the prep work required and how little help we have on any kind of a regular basis. My faith has been strengthened that this is the Lord's work when just as I am the most worried we will run out of work and have to shut down the camera and I pray for help, help comes and we are able to keep the camera going. No matter what anyone says, it is wonderful to be a little fish in a big pond! I love being a part of the Lord's work! Little tender mercies are magnificent to me! I love the Savior! I know he loves each of us and His arms are outstretched to each of us NO MATTER WHAT!
We love each of you and miss you so much! We are so grateful for your support! Thank you so much!